Tasnim � Iran�s Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati said the banking problems hampering the country�s trade with the European Union (EU) member states have their roots in the EU�s failure to facilitate the banking ties between the two sides.

�Iran�s governmental organizations and businessmen have difficulties in trading with European countries,� Hojjati said in a meeting with a high-ranking delegation headed by the European Union Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan in Tehran on Saturday.

He emphasized that despite claims made by some EU officials, the banking problems are not caused by the Islamic Republic but created by the EU.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the minister appreciated the European Union for importing Iranian agricultural products and expressed the hope that the obstacles in the way to increase the imports would be removed in the near future.

The EU delegation comprises 70 members including some officials from Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission as well as representatives of some renowned companies from different European countries, according to the official website of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA).

The visit comes against the backdrop of a new wave of interest in ties with Iran after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) in July 2015 reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive 159-page deal on Tehran�s nuclear program and started implementing it in January 2016.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.

However, Iranian officials have complained about the failure of the other side, especially the US, to fully implement the accord, as Iran still has problems in its banking transactions with other countries.